Regarding Robin
by TheUltimateCokeBear
Summary: A series of oneshots about Robin, and the man who taught him everything.
1. just for now

**Author's Note:**

Okay, I started this on my day off last week, and I'd been bored all day. So, since I was planning on doing this eventually, I decided why not now?

Also, I felt bad for disappearing for so long. But with school, exams, and a new boyfriend I've been kept pretty busy. I finally got some time today to write, which I've been meaning to for a while. –sigh-

Batman and Robin cure all boredom, lawl. xD

Italics are a flashback, and a lot of these oneshots are going to have them. Get used to it. ;D

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans, Batman or any related characters, the song Just For Now or the absolutely amazing fantastical Imogen Heap.

* * *

**.01  
****Just For Now**  
_Timeframe: a few months after Go!_

---

"Hey Robin, why're you here?"

Looking up from his spot at the computer, the Boy Wonder glanced at Beast Boy with a raised eyebrow. "I live here, remember?"

Beast Boy shook his head, that honestly interested look still on his face. "No, I mean _here_, as in Jump City." He paused a second, choosing his words carefully. "Why leave Batman?"

For the short time the Titans had been together, they all knew relatively little of each other. But one thing all of them had known (excluding Starfire) was that Robin was supposed to be with Batman.

Beast Boy had heard of the Dynamic Duo's heroics through snippets of conversations he'd overheard from the rest of the Doom Patrol, Cyborg had seen them on the news before, and Raven knew all about them somehow (despite that even Robin had no idea where she was from). Starfire was the only know who didn't know about the famous pair, and that was perhaps why Robin found it easiest to talk to someone who had no knowledge of his past life and the shadow he had lived in.

But for the rest of the team, they were all unsure about the topic of Gotham City around Robin. Since he had never mentioned it, none of them had brought it up around him. Beast Boy and Cyborg had bounced a few ideas off each other while Robin was out; Batman had kicked him out, Robin had been fired, Gotham City had only needed one vigilante… the list went on, one theory even involving robots and a monkey.

There had been an unspoken rule about not mentioning anything relating to Batman, the tense aura around Robin whenever the subject neared that forbidden topic almost tangible. No one had dared go any farther.

Until Beast Boy's natural curiosity got the better of him, anyways.

Seeing Robin's shoulders tighten minutely, Beast Boy still did not back down. He couldn't get why Robin, who'd had such a... a _glamorous _career back in Gotham had come to a city that would be inevitably boring to someone from a big city.

"What are you talking about?" Robin snapped, whipping his body around in the chair to direct an angry look at Beast Boy.

Eeping quietly, the changeling backpedaled a few feet. "Well, you know, you had such a good gig back in Gotham City and working with Batman would be so cool and- I just- we didn't…" Beast Boy stammered nervously, suddenly rethinking this whole conversation. "It's just… Why'd you do it?"

--

_Batman turned his head sharply, looking over his shoulder._

"_Excuse me?" he asked. The cowl was still on, but Robin could tell he was raising an eyebrow by the tone in his voice._

"_You heard me." The gloved hands clenched. "Why'd you do it?"_

_Turning around fully, the Caped Crusader folded his arms across his chest. "Care to elaborate on exactly what I did?" he asked dryly._

_Robin ran his hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture. "Did you have to interrogate that man right in front of his family?"_

"_What does it matter?"_

--

Beast Boy didn't expect the harshness of Robin's voice when he asked that question, but he managed to stand his ground.

"Well… we're a team now, and I was just thinking we should get to know each other more," Beast Boy explained quickly, trying not to set Robin off.

Robin's glare did not diminish, despite the fact that his voice sounded calm. "Beast Boy, I don't think that something like this is necessary right now."

"But… but…"

Having successfully averted the subject, Robin turned back to the computer. "It doesn't matter that much right now; right now we should be less concerned about pasts and more about pow– "

Beast Boy interrupted him, blurting out:

"Of course it matters! Everything matters!"

--

"_All that matters is that we got the information we needed," Batman returned, voice flat. He turned back to the information he was entering into the case log._

_Robin strode up to his mentor's front, pushing the larger arm so that the man was facing him. "So it doesn't matter that he was pushed up against a wall and treated like a common criminal in front of his young _son_? That you interrupted the rest of his family's dinner just so you could get your precious information?"_

_The white eyeslits narrowed slightly, trying to discern why had Robin so mad. "I've used that method since week one; what makes now any different from then? A criminal is still a criminal."_

"_That's just it! You never see the grays in life! He had a family, a home, a _life_, Bruce… he just seemed so… so…"_

"_Human?" Batman supplied, arms folding, that look never leaving his face._

_Alfred, watching from the top of the steps at the entrance to the Batcave, sighed sadly. From what he could see, Robin's posture has lost its bristling, angry pose. His fire, fed by the rotting anger from all their previous arguments and this fresh spat, seemed to dim for a moment as Batman prepared to delve into another lecture._

_It was starting to become routine._

"_Don't let your emotions get in the way of your judgment. It will– "_

"_It'll give them an opening for attack, I know, I've heard it a million times already," Robin said, tone close to being bitter._

_Both Alfred and Batman were surprised by this disruption in the cycle, though Alfred was the only one who showed it physically. Usually Robin just backed off a bit, listened to Batman talk for a few minutes, then went upstairs and his anger smoldered the rest of the night, being nothing than a small ember of sourness the next morning._

"_So it's now the merciless Dynamic Duo now, huh?" Robin asked cynically, a derisive smile curling up the side of his mouth._

_The usually straight, stony line of Batman's mouth was tugged downwards at this surprise change in his ward's behavior. So he asked the only logical question:_

"_What's gotten into you?"_

--

Beast Boy shifted uneasily, certain he'd gotten in too deep. Robin had barked the question at him, reinforcing the green elf's knowledge that he was in hot water.

Seeming to finally realize he was almost yelling at his new teammate, Robin sat back in the chair and sighed. "I'm sorry, Beast Boy. I just… I came here to start a new life, and I don't want to… I just don't like talking about Gotham."

Sensing the change in his leader's mood, Beast Boy took more time thinking over his questions. "Well… I just came here because I kinda had nowhere else to go…"

At Robin's discreetly curious glance over his shoulder, the boy went on. "It was sort of a mutual thing… almost. I screwed up and Mento was really mad. So I just kinda… up and left." He shrugged and smiled weakly. "I just got tired of all the yelling and feeling like I could never be good enough for him. I guess I was just afraid he was going to throw me out or something, so I got out of there before he could get to it. Kind of cowardly, really."

"No, it's not."

The pointed ears perked up at this. "It's not?"

"No… sometimes… sometimes you just can't take it anymore and just have to… get up and go…" The pauses and absentminded tone in Robin's voice told Beast Boy that he wasn't just pep talking the green teen.

"Is that what happened to you…?" Beast Boy ventured, feeling like an adventurer carefully testing the ground he was about to cross.

Robin shook his head after a moment, replying, "…I'd been thinking a lot about Batman's methods…"

--

_The frown deepened._

"_What about my methods?" he asked, and Robin was glad the cowl was on so he wouldn't have to see whatever expression was under there. It had been hard enough to finally voice his growing discomfort with this whole thing._

_Still watching from the steps, Alfred felt like he was watching animals preparing for a scrap. Batman seemed like the seasoned veteran, slightly ruffled but otherwise composed, ready to come out on top. Robin was the smaller animal, back arched and ready to strike, aware of the other's almost-certain victory but willing to fight anyways._

"_When I was younger, it was try to get them to talk, and if they didn't then they go up against the wall. But now… now you just crash in, grab the nearest one by the throat and tell them to talk. Whatever happened to that one chance?"_

"_Things change."_

"_Yeah, well, maybe _I've _changed," Robin snapped, anger rushing back at the simple response. "I've been thinking about it for a while; not just that, but everything. The life, all the 'excuses', double identities… Bruce," he removed the domino mask and stared at it, mellowing out for a moment. "It's starting to get hard to tell Dick from Robin."_

_Batman removed the cowl, and Bruce stared down at Dick._

"_What do you want me to do about it?" he asked flatly. _

Dick bristled. "Well, that's what I get for opening up to Mr. Vigilante-to-the-core," he muttered, turning his back to Bruce sharply and stalking past Alfred, who'd made his way down the steps during the argument and was waiting at the bottom for them. 

_The older men watched Dick's retreating back._

_Alfred turned to Bruce. "I believe I heard him say something about 'getting out of here' as he passed by me, sir," he informed Bruce. "Should I go and have a talk with him…?" He fell silent as Bruce shook his head, still staring up at the spot where Dick had disappeared._

"_No. If Dick wants to leave, I'm won't interfere. It's all up to him."_

--

Beast Boy's ears waggled once, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"So… you left _Batman_, one of the greatest superheroes of all time, to come out on your own, just because you didn't like how he did things?" he asked, not entirely getting it.

"First of all, he's not as great as the press makes him sound. He can't even make waffles by himself." Robin rolled his eyes, although Beast Boy couldn't see it. "And second, it wasn't that. It was a lot of stuff…"

He stood up, Beast Boy moving back to give him room. The shapeshifter could tell this had dragged up memories, and he felt a bit guilty that he hadn't thought about how Robin would feel discussing it.

"Robin, I… I didn't mean to make you– "

The Boy Wonder waved off his concerns. "It's not that. At least you know now, right?" he shrugged, a hint of a smirk on his face.

Beast Boy smiled after a second. But there was one thing that still had to be answered.

"Not to try and push the envelope or anything but… why'd you start disagreeing?"

Beast Boy could see how he, an energetic preteen, and Mento, a serious thinker, didn't get along so great. But after only living together for a few weeks, he could already tell how Robin was Batman's ward; it was just in the posture, the way they talked and their faces were near unreadable, and not to mention that freaky disappearing-into-the-shadows trick Robin had done on occasion…

The new leader stopped, his back to Beast Boy.

"Things change… I've changed."

He got moving again.

"_Whoever put on this music?  
__Better quick sharp remove it  
__Pour me another  
__Oh, don't wag your finger at me  
__…  
__Just stop right here  
__I've know we've followed a bumpy ride  
__I'm sinking along your side_

_Get me outta here"  
__- Just For Now, by Imogen Heap_

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note:**

Gah, there's something about the ending that just bugs me… I can't put my finger on it, but something feels off… Anyways, for those of you that were thinking, yes, the fight is based off Old Wounds. Notice the little dialogue bit from it? (I get chills every time I watch Robin punch Batman… Thank God for Paul Dini.)

Also, I apologize for the somewhat-cheesy title. There's a Teen Titans GO! comic that actually has Batman in it (once Amanda told me about it, I bought it within in the next hour or so), and the title of it is Regarding Robin. It's kinda cool, and since the concepts of that and this are pretty much the same… yeah. XD

And the chapter titles… I just put my iPod on shuffle and listen to whatever song pops up while I write. Then I just pick out lyrics that fit with the plot of the oneshot and stick them at the end. Just explaining how it's NOT a songfic, but any means… Think of how Stephen King plugged song lyrics about cars at the beginning of each chapter of Christine (the book is really good, but I don't think the movie did her justice, lol).

-Christine


	2. wine red

**Author's Note:**

First of all, I owe this little plot bunny of an idea to Amanda, because we were roleplaying (yes, I'm a geek, moving on) and the Joker escapes to come after Robin because he needs him for Bat bait and makes a deal with Slade. So her post was really cool because of the formatting and what it said. It's the quote at the beginning of this, so you'll see it once I'm doing talking. xD

Which would be right about now, I suppose.

**Disclaimer: **Own Teen Titans or Batman? Psht. Not until I get a job. Don't own Wine Red or The Hush Sound, though I would love to get a copy of Like Vines. 3 CDs are my guilty pleasure… I think. C:

* * *

"**Why does he keep escaping Bruce?"**

He wanted to throw himself on Batman,  
Ask him that question,  
Scream at him for letting Joker and Slade talk about him,  
Like he was a piece of _property,  
_A slave,  
Live bait,  
_Apprentice,  
_**Theirs.**

_'Why Bruce?'_

* * *

_It was his worst nightmare._

_Gotham City was no more than burning rubble, the sky filled with choking black smoke. The fiery red glow of the blazes eating up crooks and citizens alike as they lay dead all over the sidewalks reflected off the heavy clouds. Around him, skyscrapers crumbled and the few remaining survivors of the cataclysmic attack of Arkham's inmates rushed past him._

_He paid them no attention._

_Somewhere behind him, he could hear the rest of the team fighting insane convicts and protecting his back as he gave chase into one of the collapsing building. The interior of the smoky building he was running through lit up in an eerie blue-green flash of a arm cannon and starbolt barrage, the screech of a raven and T-rex disappearing as the distance between the remaining team and him widened._

"_HeheheheheHAHAHAHAHahAHahahaHAhAhee…"_

Stop

"_What was it you always told me, Bruce?"_

Stop it

"_He was loose, but he wouldn't get me, right?"_

Stop now

"_Well, look at me now Bruce."_

Stop it right NOW

"_Look at me."_

No

"_Yes."_

I don't want to

"_Do it."_

It's not my–

"_Yes, it is."_

_The running footsteps stopped._

_Murky blue eyes leering at him through the smog floating through the room. White gloved hands, the fingertips frayed and missing, streaked with dirt, grime, and most detestably blood. A torn purple jacket, matching purple pants with patches missing. Worn spats, now completely covered with dust from running over rubble._

_A low, helpless giggle cut through the silence._

_A grin, blood red and messy, stretched over Dick's pale face._

"_See what happens when you fail, Bruce?"_

I know, I see, I hate it

"_I know you do. That's what makes this so funny!"_

_Sick, murky chuckles reached his ears, making him cringe._

"_Oh, that's right Bruce. You just hate fun in general, don't you? No wonder Joker is more fun to be with. I never knew how much fun it could be to watch someone die."_

Shut up

"_No, really. The death throes are kind of funny. I laughed the first time I saw it."_

_hehehHEhEhahHAhaha_

"_Just like that." Dick smiled again, exposing a twisted version of his old smile._

"_Anyways, I have to kill you now," he said, shrugging and pulling a small knife out of his pocket. "Sorry Bruce, you know how it is."_

_Even as Dick approached him, he couldn't move, feet rooted to the ground. Even as the knife dug into the arm of his suit and wedged itself down to his skin, he still didn't do anything, because this wasn't just some horribly altered creature, this was _Dick,_ this was his _son_, he couldn't hurt him. _

_Even as blood sprang to the surface, he didn't fight back, because somewhere in there the real Robin had to be still alive and fighting-_

"_You know what the best part about this is, though? At least when I'm done, I can go back to Joker knowing at least _he'll_ show pride in what I've done."_

_The stabbing continued, all over his torso now in staccato bursts of pain. He shook his head back and forth, eyes shut tightly and hands knocking away Dick's arms to press his hands to his ears to block out the noise._

"_That's right Bruce, deny it, like you always do to _everything_."_

I don't

"Stop lying to yourself. It's getting annoying," he ordered, frowning.

"You denied yourself any feelings, you denied Selina and any other women who were willing to deal with your issues, you denied me…" His eyes narrowed and the knife paused. "…you denied me praise when I needed it most."

When have you ever needed it? _he managed to pant out, slumping to his knees in exhaustion. _Being able to survive this long without it, you must not have craved it as badly as you say.

_His tormentor squatted to his level, resting one arm on a dirty knee. Using the knife to tilt up his hanging head, Dick locked gazes with him, blue eyes searching gunmetal gray ones._

"_You just don't get it, do you?" he asked in an abnormally lucid voice, frowning softly and shaking his head. "I needed it when I was trying to readjust to a new life. I needed it on my first night out with you. I needed it when I finally made it on my own; I needed it _then_!"_

_Dick's voice had been rising gradually throughout his little monologue, and when he'd tried to look away from Dick's eyes the boy had grabbed his chin and roughly redirected his gaze._

"_But I don't need it now." Dick used the grip on his chin to throw him to the ground, face first. "So tough luck. Not even seven years of praise is gonna save you now," he stated matter-of-factly, standing to look down on the man sprawled in the dirt and ashes._

no

"_You know, from this angle, you look pretty pathetic," Dick observed. "I'd feel bad for you if it wasn't so funny."_

stop

_Dick bent down to him one last time, voice fading gradually with every prick of pain. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen, eh Bruce?"_

"_no no no no_ _n_O NO NO

--

"Master Bruce!?"

Bruce shot up, shaking and cold all over. Panting, he turned to look for the owner of the voice. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Master Bruce, please, calm down!"

Turning to his left, Bruce finally located the speaker, the familiar sight of Alfred Pennyworth calming his racing heart a bit.

The butler looked startled and slightly alarmed. "What in the world is wrong?"

The vigilante put a hand to his head, then using it to push his damp black bangs out of his eyes. "What… what happened?"

Alfred blinked in surprise, white eyebrows furrowing in concentration as he recalled the past events.

"The Joker succeeded in escaping Arkham Asylum, for what I believe would be the twelfth time now, and you captured him once again. And just in time, I might add," he said, picking up the cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol he had dropped when Bruce had shot up and applying it in gentle daubs.

A quiet hiss of pain escaped from between Bruce's teeth and he winced slightly. Opening his eyes, he looked down to where the faithful butler was working.

Cuts decorated his skin, running over his forearms like spider webs and tapering off near his upper biceps. Multiple bruises had bloomed over his skin, the color indicating they'd been inflicted quite a few hours prior to this moment.

"Alfred, what… happened to me?" he asked softly, still dazed from the horribly real dream.

"Well, as I was trying to explain, the Joker escaped, as he often does. You were prevented from going directly after him, as he had set free Arkham's entire population in his getaway and you were occupied in rounding them up," he elucidated, swapping the cotton ball for a soft square of cotton and medical tape.

"By the time you had gotten around to locating Joker, he had been spotted near Jump City. You had me send a message to Master Dick to not pursue him…" Alfred snipped off the end of the tape, both of Bruce's forearms covered in white bandages and no doubt confined to long-sleeved garments until further notice, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"You really don't remember, do you…?"

Bruce put a hand to his head and closed his eyes, willing any memories to come back.

Colors and sounds began to seep through the black of his mind's eye, and slowly formed into coherent shapes, conversations, and events that had taken place over the past two days.

"No, I… it's starting to come back."

Rushing to Jump City.

Robin arguing with him, ending with Robin hanging up to go after Joker himself.

Rushing even faster to get there.

Joker taking Robin hostage.

The insane clown holding a knife to the Boy Wonder's throat as Batman rushed in, the two exchanging verbal barbs while Robin's life teetered on the blade's edge.

A haze that began to form around what happened next, only that the Dark Knight had made a foolishly rash move, Joker's hand whipped across Robin's neck, and suddenly the clown was underneath two-hundred and fifty pounds of enraged vigilante.

Joker had put up a fight; he remembered that much. The knife that was slick with Robin's blood had slashed against Batman's arms and chest and face (Bruce could only assume his face looked just as bad as the rest of him). In the end, Batman finally wrestled the Joker into the dirt and cuffed him, veins standing out on his arms and neck as he fought to keep from snapping the criminal's neck.

He then remembered rushing to Robin, the boy's uniform too red and his skin much too pale…

Seeing the shallow cuts on the ashy cheeks that made it look like he was smiling.

Bruce's massive frame shuddered once and he opened his eyes to Alfred's sympathetic face. Images from his nightmare finally began to make sense, but he still had to ask.

"Dick isn't…"

"No, thank Heaven," Alfred assured him. "According to Miss Raven, you staggered out of the Joker's hideout barely conscious, dragging him out after you with one arms while carrying Robin with the other. I must say, she paints quite the heroic picture," he mused to himself, remembering the Titan's awe when Alfred had come to make the emergency pick up of Batman.

This speedy recovery of the unconscious Bruce was due to the fact that he had sent a transmission to the butler shortly before he'd passed out that he would need Alfred's assistance getting back to the Batcave.

Tidying up the medical supplies, Alfred turned and began up the steps to the Manor. "You've been unconscious for quite a while Master Bruce; I suggest you get some proper sleep."

Nodding, Bruce carefully stood up, ignoring the initial dizziness and flare of pain in his legs. "I'll be right up."

"Very good, Master Bruce." Alfred nodded slightly and left him to his business.

The billionaire strode across the Batcave to the large computer, disregarding the protests his antagonized muscles made. Upon reaching the large keyboard used for the Batcomputer, he typed in a code he'd learned long ago, though its owner was still unaware of it.

The Titan's Tower mainframe appeared on the screen, and Bruce tapped into the security cameras.

Tenth floor… Main hallway… Robin's room…

He pulled up the video feed to the forefront of the screens, studying the sleeping boy.

White strips peeked out from under his unruly black hair, and a white rectangle was covering his throat. A square bandage was applied to his cheekbone, the faint colorings of a bruise sneaking out past the edges. His chest moved up and down rhythmically, and his cheeks showed a healthy flush that deeply contrasted with Bruce's last memory of him.

Dick was safe.

The tongue-lashing he would expect could wait until both members of the Dynamic Duo were back in fighting condition.

Letting his eyes linger on the scene a moment longer, the man closed the screen with the knowledge that Robin had lived to fight another day.

However, as far as Bruce was concerned, he himself had failed.

His footsteps echoed as he padded across the Batcave once more and booted up the training system.

--

"_Who shot that arrow in your throat?  
Who missed the crimson apple?  
It hung heavy on the tree above your head_

_This chaos, this calamity, this garden once was perfect  
Give your immortality to me; I'll set you up against the stars."_

_Wine Red, by The Hush Sound_

* * *

wow, i actally finished this... a long time ago. i could've posted it like, three or four months ago but i kinda had a mini crisis and i wasn't feeling too good mentally, so i went through some stuff and eventually got diagnosed, so apparently i have clinical depression (which isn't a huge surprise, cause my mom kinda died from it and my little brother had it for a while). ANYWAYS. not to bore or disturb with my personal life, but i just wanted to explain why i've been gone why i might seem a little different... or not. xD;

bascially, i'm on medication now, not to sound crazy, made a couple personal changes, and now here's the story. c:

MERRY CHRISTMAS HERE'S YOUR PRESENT, not to offend any of those who don't celebrate christmas. i'ma go to my grand'rents (new abbreviation lol?) to celebrate the birth of my Savoir and whatnot, but i'll still reply to reviews and pms and stuff. at least that was i can be somewhat active. xD;

soyeah, if you have any ideas for this, i'd love to hear them. my own next idea was something humorus...ish, but if you suggest something i'll be sure to credit you. c; hopefully stuff comes to me over the holidays. hope you enjoyed this! :D

merry christmas x 3!  
-christine  
(p.s. - ignore the no-caps thing; i'm typing like that in author's notes because my friend mandy's typing has rubbed off on me, haha. i'll still type properly in actual writings though, so don't like get mad or annoyed or anything. -sheepish smile- that's all!)


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